Rahul promises minimum income guarantee for poor

29 Jan 201905:49am IST

29 Jan 201905:49am IST

Says if Congress is voted to power in the coming Lok Sabha polls, ‘there will be no hungry, poor people in India (any longer)’

PTI, RAIPUR: Congress president Rahul Gandhi announced Monday that his party would ensure "minimum income guarantee" for every poor person in the country if it is voted to power in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

The announcement comes ahead of the Union Budget, the last to be presented by the Narendra Modi government before the polls due in later this year.

It also follows the NDA government's decision to give 10 per cent quota to the economically backward section in the general category.

"The Congress has decided to take a historic decision...The Congress-led government is going to give minimum income guarantee. This means, every poor person in India will have a minimum income. This means there will be no hungry, poor people in India (any longer)," Gandhi said.

He was addressing a 'Kisaan Abhaar Sammelan' here to express gratitude to Chhattisgarh's people, particularly farmers, for voting the Congress to power in the state after 15 years.

Asserting that he gets done what he says, Gandhi added the minimum income guarantee would be implemented across the country.

Later, he tweeted, "We cannot build a new India while millions of our brothers & sisters suffer the scourge of poverty."

"If voted to power in 2019, the Congress is committed to a Minimum Income Guarantee for every poor person, to help eradicate poverty & hunger. This is our vision & our promise," he said in his tweet.

"We don't want two Indias. There will be one India, and in that India, the Congress will give minimum income to every poor person. No government in the world has done this till now. The Congress is going to do that, it will be a historic feat," Gandhi said at the rally. The BJP-led Union government wrote off Rs 3.5 lakh crore worth of loans of 15 big industrialist but "did not waive the loans of the country's farmers", he alleged.